My morning routine

I’ve always been interested in how other people start their days, the small routines that shape everything that follows. Over time, I've settled into a morning rhythm of my own. Here’s what a fairly typical morning looks like, from first light to lunchtime.

6.05am - The alarm goes off, timed to kick in just after the news so the first words we hear aren’t all doom and gloom. We listen to Joe Simms on Radio Bristol first thing and I always look forward to his Early Bird quiz, where he asks listeners to identify a popular song from a single, out-of-context line of lyrics. It’s more difficult than it sounds

6.10am - I’m downstairs making a cup of tea, still turning the Early Bird over in my head. As the kettle boils, I feed our guinea pigs — Wicket, Moon and Grogu — and then tackle the morning’s Wordle on the NYT Games app. I’ve recently also become addicted to the NYT’s Strands puzzle, so that’s next on the agenda. 

Both puzzles stop me from checking email first thing — my personal account that is, not my work one. I couldn’t check my work mail even if I wanted to. I’ve set the Freedom app to block my work mail account until mid-morning. But even aside from that, the Brucie bonus is that if I solve both puzzles, I already feel like I've won before breakfast. And not just once – twice! Three times if I've cracked the Early Bird too!

Get. In.

6.20am - With my wife’s tea safely delivered to her side, I’m back at the kitchen table with my journal open and my pen ready.

Journaling is something I’ve always struggled with, only really turning to it when things aren’t going well, so I’m trying to make it a daily habit. I keep it deliberately loose, with no page targets or specific prompts. My only goal is to write for at least ten minutes.

If I’ve got nothing to say, I fall back on a time-honoured English tradition and talk about the weather — a trick I picked up from YouTuber, Carl Pullein. Once the small talk is over and done with, I’m usually scribbling away like a good ’un.

7.00am - Breakfast, accompanied by a flick through the morning paper and/or a magazine. Toast dominates the menu, with a rotating troop of toppings: Marmite, peanut butter, marmalade, beans, eggs... Crumpets also loom large, topped with cheese and /or Marmite.

Recently, I’ve also been experimenting with overnight oats in an attempt to rein in the sheer amount of bread I can put away before noon.

8.00am - Showered and shaved, I head out for a walk, usually with one of my favourite podcasts playing in my earbuds.

9.30am - Ideally, I’m at my desk in the studio by now, the day’s first cup of coffee on the go. I check my to-do list and dive straight into the most important job of the day, usually set the night before. Nine times out of ten, it’s a writing task. I’m always more creative in the morning, so this is time I try to protect fiercely.

Freedom is still running, which means email remains out of bounds. The ban lifts around 10am, but by then I’m usually deep enough into the work to forget that email exists. I’ve had too many days derailed by unexpected messages demanding immediate action. You start responding and, before you know it, your best-laid plans for the day are up in smoke. The older I get, the more I realise that very little is genuinely that urgent.

I usually write until about 11.30ish, stopping for the odd coffee break along the way. Then — and only then — I’ll venture into email to see what the world has thrown at me overnight. After a little admin, it’s time to break for lunch at midday.

So that’s what most of my mornings look like. As you see, it's nothing fancy, just a simple routine that sets me up for the day. But it serves another purpose, helping me taking control from the off. None of us know what world is going to hurl at us, but by having a set routine, at least we start it on our own terms.

What about your mornings? Why not share your routine in the comments below? 

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